Sins of the Past
by Addie Logan
Summary: Book Five of my New X-Men Chronicles: Two of the X-Men find themselves faced with something from their parents' shared past. But will mistakes repeat themselves, or will the next generation prove stronger than the last?
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: As I've stated many times before, I don't own the X-Men, yet the New X-Men as portrayed in this series, are mine.

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Two of the X-Men find themselves faced with something from their parents' shared past. But will mistakes repeat themselves, or will the next generation prove stronger than the last?

Author's Note: This is sort of a break from the previous four books in the New X-Men Chronicles, choosing to focus more on a small group instead of the whole team. If you don't like this one, don't despair—the whole team plus some new members will be back with a vengeance in book six. *wink* 

Feedback and Archiving: Feedback is the only thing in the world better than candy. Send it to: addie_logan@yahoo.com As for archiving, I'll almost always say yes—just tell me first so I can keep track of my stories.

Shameless Webpage Plug: More ficcy goodness can be found at: 

New X-Men Chronicles V:

Sins of the Past

By: Addie Logan

*** *** ***

**Team Roster:**

**Gold Team:  
**Rachel Summers—Phoenix  
Warren Worthington IV—Shadow Stalker  
Kristof Rasputin—Phaze  
Illyana Rasputin—Mystik  
Elisabeth Summers—Psi-Blaze  
Craig Marshall—Canis 

**Blue Team:**  
Adanya Logan—Wildcat  
Ric LeBeau—Renegade  
Victoria Creed—Slayer   
Kacie Drake—Ice Queen  
Billy Starsmore—Sparks  
Marie LeBeau—Charger 

*** *** ***

Two months since the near-destruction of time, and things were beginning to go back to normal around the X-Mansion.

Well, as normal as it could be for the X-Men anyway.

That is, until the day the mail came, and Marie and Vicky found themselves holding identical letters.

Marie stared at hers in horror, unable to believe that anyone would be foolish enough to believe she would do something so vile. 

Vicky laughed hysterically.

Marie sat on the end of Vicky's bed, her brow furrowed. "How could he honestly think we'd work for him?" Marie asked softly. Usually, she wouldn't have spent any time alone with Vicky at all, but seeing as they were in the same predicament, and Marie was too embarrassed to tell any of the other X-Men, she decided it would be okay this once. 

"Maybe it's just a form letter," Vicky said with a smirk. "We got on the mailing list." 

"What mailing list would that be, Victoria?" Marie snapped. "The hey, my dad help kill a bunch of people list?"

Vicky shrugged.  "Possibly."

Marie looked back down at the invitation printed on thick, white cardstock.  "You are cordially invited to join Mr. Sinister in the reforming of the Marauders." She frowned. "It's like some sort of sick joke."

"Maybe Sinister's finally flipped his lid," Vicky said.  "I never pegged him for playing with a full deck in the first place.  I mean anyone who's obsessed with Scott Summers _and _ formed a group called the 'Nasty Boys' has to be a little nuts."

Marie threw the invitation down with disgust.  "He'd have to be to think I'd ever help him—especially after the way he manipulated my father."

"So I take it that means you aren't interested."

Marie looked up at Vicky in surprise.  "Of course not!  Don't tell me you are!"

Vicky shrugged.  "It could be an opportunity for us. Go check it out, see what he's up to."

"And what, join his little crew if we decide we like it?"

Vicky held her hands up.  "Hey! I thought after all the time I spent here, you people would start trusting me. No, I didn't mean go scout it out for employment opportunities.  If Sinister's attempting to reform the Marauders, he's obviously up to something. If we were there, maybe we could figure out what."

"No way.  If that's the case, we'll just deal with it when we're faced with it. Agreeing to something like this can't be anything but bad."

"What, you afraid your mom'll show up and ditch you in Antarctica?"

"Ha. Ha."

"Seriously, Marie, think about it.  Sinister is an enemy of the X-Men. We're the X-Men. If this is for real, then it could be our chance to infiltrate wherever his current base is and do some damage."

"And if it's not real, and this is some sort of set up?"

"Then we hope our luck holds out and we don't both die a painful, horrible death," Vicky said with a shrug.

"Gee, that makes me feel better." She stood up. "I'm not doing it. Sinister is trouble, and us joining him, whether it be under false pretenses or not, is not a good idea."

"Won't you give it a little more thought?"

"No."  Marie walked out of Vicky's room, leaving the discarded "invitation" still on the floor.

*** *** ***

Marie was not working for Sinister. No way, no how. She had more integrity than that. 

She went downstairs to the kitchen, deciding a big bowl of rocky road ice cream would make her forget all about Sinister's stupid little invitation. She opened up the massive freezer, searching for her favorite ice cream.

"MARIE!!!!"

Marie jumped in the air, slamming the fridge door, and spinning around. "Kacie! What the hell do you want?"

"Oh my God! You like won't believe who's here!"

"You have that sadistic look in your eyes, Drake. What bad news are you bringing?"

Kacie smiled. "Zach Tyson's out of prison! And he's here!"

"_Mon Dieu."_

"Your brother's all spastic about it. And Addie's hiding before she gets the metal ripped from her tiny bones."

"How the hell did he get out?"

"He was in the looney bin, but they declared him mentally competent. He told them he's not Magneto anymore, so they told him he could go home, but his parents won't let him live with him anymore. They're afraid he'll kill them in his sleep because they're humans."

"He's not staying here, is he?"

"Cable says he can."

"Damn Cable."

"I know. Doesn't even carry the Movie Channel."

Marie rolled her eyes. "You need help. Really."

Kacie shrugged. "Anyway, he's here now. He had a bit of a growth spurt, and the acne cleared up, but he's still a little twitchy."

"Has he tried to rip the iron out of anyone's blood yet?"

"Nope. I think he's waiting for dinner. Anyway, I have to get going because Billy and I are going to see a zombie movie marathon, but I thought I'd warn you. Have a great night, Marie!" Kacie left the room with her trademark skip.

Marie banged her head against the freezer. "Dammit."

*** *** ***

Vicky stared at the blond man sitting on the edge of the couch. He looked like a neurotic junkie. She frowned. "Who the hell are you?"

The man looked up, most of his face hidden behind his chin-length, scraggly hair. "Zachary Tyson."

"'Magneto is neato' Zachary Tyson?"

"Um, yeah."

"Why are you on the X-Men's couch?"

"I have nowhere to go. I have to stay here."

"Geez, these guys'll take anyone in. First me, and now you."

"I don't want to talk to anyone."

"Fine. Don't really want to talk to you either, dude. One of your henchmen shot me."

"The X-Men were our enemies."

"Right. Well, um, I'm going to go to some room where you're not." Vicky walked down the hall, stopping when she saw Ric in the rec room. "Hey, sexy."

Ric looked up from his one-person pool game. "Hey, babe."

"I guess you know your alter-ego come to life is in the living room."

"Yeah, I saw him. When I came into the room he screamed and curled into a little ball on the floor."

"Oh. That's nice." Vicky walked into the room. "So which of your personalities is winning?"

"Very funny, Victoria."

Her expression grew serious. "Really, are you okay with Zach being here?"

"I guess." He winked at Vicky. "You could have sex with me on the pool table and make it all better."

"Cute, Stripes. Who do you think we are, Billy and Kacie?"

Ric looked sideways at the pool table. "They didn't…"

"Oh yeah."

Ric put down the cue. "I could've gone my whole life without knowing that."

"Hey, at least you didn't have to hear all the details from the Giggly One."

"Please, spare me."

"Okay, I'll be nice—this once." Vicky was quiet for a minute, then asked, "Hey, what do you think of Sinister?"

"Psycho. Sorta looks like a cross-dressing vampire."

"He sent me an invitation to join the Marauders."

"What?"

"He sent me an invitation to join the Marauders. Apparently he's reforming them."

"You're not going to go are you? I mean, you aren't planning to quit the X-Men and become, um…"

"What, Ric—a 'costumed criminal?' Come on, you know me better than that. But I have been thinking about going and um, well, spying on him. If Sinister's doing this, it could be bad for the X-Men."

Ric thought about it for a moment. "You have a point there. But it seems like a risk."

"I'm a big girl, Ric. I dress myself and everything. Why just this morning I even cut up my own fruit."

"I'm not saying you aren't capable, Vicky. Lord knows you are. But Sinister's dangerous. And he has a habit of stealing people's souls." He smirked.

"Then I guess it's a good thing I sold mine for a pack of cigs and some parts for my car. And a Furby."

Ric shook his head. "You are the craziest woman I have ever met."

"Even crazier than your Russian lover?" Vicky said in a faux Russian accent.

"You sound like a Bond villain."

"All I need now is a cat and a bitchin' scar."

Ric reached out, taking her hand. "Look, I know whatever you do, it's going to be your decision. You're the most stubborn person I've ever met. But be careful, all right. I know you think you're invincible, but even people with healing factors can die."

"Thanks for that happy thought. I'm going to go get some fairy dust and fly away now."

"Ric, what are you doing in here with Victoria Creed?"

Vicky and Ric turned to see Illyana standing in the doorway, her hands on her hips.

Vicky clapped her hands together. "Look who woke up from her latest vodka-induced stupor! How's it going, Rasputin?"

"Fuck you."

"Sorry, sweetheart, you're not my type." Vicky kissed Ric on the cheek. "See you around, Stripes."

Vicky could hear Illyana's ranting all the way down the hall.

*** *** ***

"Hi, Marie."

Marie didn't look up from her magazine. "Hello, Tyson."

"Can I sit down beside you?"

"No."

Zach sat beside her anyway. "I was always in love with you."

"That's nice."

"When I thought I was Magneto, I thought you were Magda."

Marie stood up, hurrying from the room. "Cable!" She found Angela in the library. "Hey, Angie, where's Nate?"

"In our room, cleaning his guns."

"Thanks."

Marie went to Cable and Angela's room, knocking on the door. It was never bright to walk in unannounced when Cable was cleaning his guns. That's how accidents happened. Cable opened the door. "Yeah?"

"The Amazing Magnetic Boy has to leave."

Nathan sighed. "Marie, I'm sorry, but I can't let him just run around on the streets. He's, well, unstable."

"Gee, ya think? But does he have to be here? I mean, can't we like lock him in a little dark room somewhere? Or maybe in the cell in the basement where the old X-Men stuck Vicky's dad."

"No, Marie, we can't."

"But he's creepy! He said he thought I was Magda!"

"Jean's going to help him deal with his mental problems."

"Oh gee, I feel all better now. Nathan, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Jean has her own 'mental problems.' The woman spent six months in a mental ward."

"Yeah, well, being a telepath can be difficult on people. But she's past that. Anyway, Zach's staying. End of debate."

"But, Nathan…"

"Marie, you're not changing my mind. I don't care how much you whine." He shut the door, and Marie pouted.

"_Merde."_

*** *** ***

Vicky stared at her duffle bag, wondering if she was doing the right thing. What would her father say? It's not like she could ask him. "Hey Dad, I'm going to be a Marauder," would not be a good way to start a conversation with Sabretooth.

She picked up and slung the bag over her shoulder. Might as well get out of there before the X-Men woke up. Didn't want to have hear the bitching. At least she'd let the X-Men know where she was going in the standard way. She'd left a note on the fridge that Kacie was sure to give a dramatic reading of in the morning.

She found Marie waiting at the bottom of the stairs. "So we taking your car, or are we stealing one of the others?"

"What are you doing here, LeBeau?" Vicky asked.

"I'm going with you."

"I thought you had a moral opposition to being a Marauder."

"That's before the Magnetorator showed up."

"Zach giving you that creepy vibe, too?"

"Um, yeah."

"All right, kid. Let's get going before someone wakes up and gives us a stern talking to. And we're going in my car. I don't trust these people and their mechanics."

Marie picked up her Louis Vuitton suitcase. "Let's go."

"Nice suitcase, Marie. Gambit steal it for you?"

"No. Emil."

"Right." Vicky walked off towards the garage with Marie in tow.

*** *** ***

Review chapter one, or there will never be a chapter two!!! *Evil laugh*


	2. Chapter Two

The being known as Candra was disenchanted with her life. The Thieves and Assassins had forsaken her. She lay on her couch, pouting. Her life had no meaning. And she was lonely.

It was all that Gambit's fault. He was the one who had stolen the Elixir of Life from her. He and that stupid wife of his. That whore had used her super strength and taken Candra by surprise. 

Candra decided she wanted revenge. Sure, it had been years, but she was still bitter. Why should she be forced to live in exile? Because some weakling had told her she was a relic, no longer needed.

She'd show him how much of a relic she was. She was Candra—an External! She was better than all the Thieves and Assassins combined. Especially Gambit…

Candra sat up, the wheels turning in her twisted little mind. She'd get her revenge…

*** *** ***

"Boy, I told you not to mess wit' de Assassins."

Emil Lapin, Jr. sighed. He wasn't in the mood to mess with his father. He knew he shouldn't have come home. He could be in his plush New Orleans apartment right now, but nooo… He had to go spend "quality time" with his father. "Papa, I tol' you I'm sorry."

"Sorry? You sorry? Dat ain't enough! Belladonna, she pissed beyond all reason. Said she gonna get her revenge for what you did to her boy. Jean-Luc, he talkin' about removin' you from de Guild!"

"Jean-Luc isn't in charge anymore. Remy is."

"Dat ain't de point! Jus' him sayin' it is embarassin'!"

Emil clutched his head, the sound of his father mixed with the constant noise from his twelve brothers and sisters making it pound. 

"Emil, you leave T'Mil, alone now," Emil's mother said, coming into the room, shaking a wooden spoon. "He jus' a boy. He don' know no better."

"When's de boy gonna learn, Lucinda? We sent 'im all de way to LSU. Gave him some real tex' book learnin'. We paid for him to have a brain, so he should have one!"

"He's got a brain, Emil. It jus' migrated sout' like all de man-brains do."

Emil groaned. He was in Hell. Swamp Hell. "Look, I promise y'all I'll never touch Claire 'gain."

"You better not! Besides, dat don' even seem safe, boy," Emil Sr. said. "Lord only knows where dat woman has been."

Lucinda Lapin turned pale. "She didn't make my baby sick, did she?"

Emil covered his face with his hands. "No, Mama."

"You need yourself a good woman, T'Mil. A good Cat'olic would set you straight."

"I know, Mama."

"Den why ain't you married yet? De Savoy girl ain't spoken for yet. She's real pretty, too. And she cooks."

"I'll t'ink about it, Mama." Emil decided he'd rather be dealing with the X-Men than this.

There was a high pitched squeal from the back of the house. "Which of de Jeans was dat?" Lucinda asked.

"I t'ink it was Jean-Jean," Emil said.

"Damn dat J.J.," Emil Sr. said. "Dat boy's gonna end up in de penitentiary. I know it."

"Don't you be sayin' dat!" Lucinda yelled. "All my children know Jesus!"

Emil decided to take the opportunity to slip away. When his mother began her rants about religion, she usually zoned out enough for him to make an exit.

He walked outside to his porch, overlooking the swamp. He leaned over the balcony and sighed.

"Rough day, Lapin?"

Emil spun around. "Marius! What are you doin' here?" He frowned. "And how'd you get in here?"

"You T'ieves aren't de only ones who know how to be sneaky."

"You one creepy bastard."

"We got trouble, Emil."

"What? You about to break my face?"

"_Non. I mean de Guilds. I hear Candra's up to no good."_

"Candra? I t'ought de ol' bitch done kicked de bucket."

"She still around. Hear she's after Remy LeBeau."

"Why she be after him?"

"Don' know. Mebbe it has something to do wit' how he ruined her life 'bout twenty years ago."

"Mebbe. How you know about it anyway?"

"De Assassins found out. Dey say not to tell de T'ieves, but I felt like bein' nice. Dis is jus' a warnin'."

"Is it one of dose warnin's dat I have to pay for wit' my soul?"

"You too weasely for a soul, Lapin."

"I resent dat. So what am I supposed to do 'bout Candra?"

"Do I gotta do everyt'ing 'round here? Might be a good idea if you warned Remy. Jus' a t'ought."

"You have betrayed me, Assassin."

"_Encule-moi," Marius muttered as Candra appeared before them, seemingly floating above the swamp._

"Whoa," Emil said. "Dat's jus' freaky."

"Emil Lapin, I have come for you."

"Um, could you mebbe not do dat?"

Candra swooped, grabbing Emil and carrying him off. Marius stared in shock for a moment before running into Emil's house. "Lapin, you in here!"

Emil, Sr. came into the room. "Marius Boudreaux! What are you doin' in my house? Lucinda, get my shotgun!"

Marius held up his hands. "Wait! I ain't here to hurt ya! It's Emil—he was jus' kidnapped!"

"By one of your people!"

"No! By Candra!"

Emil, Sr. stumbled backwards. "Candra! What does dat witch want wit' my boy?"

"I don' know! I came here to warn him, and she just flew in over de swamp and took him off! Never in all my days did I see such a t'ing!"

"Dis ain't no good. Gotta call de Guild."

"Um, can I help at all?"

Emil, Sr. cocked his head. "Why you askin' that? You got some evil plan?" He pointed. "You in league wit' Candra!"

"_Non! I jus'…well, Emil's almost a friend."_

"I ain't askin' no questions, boy. You wanna help, you sit around here for a bit. I ask de Guild want to do."

Marius looked around the house and decided that it could be worse…

*** *** ***

Marie and Vicky reached the address that was written on the back of the invitation. "It's an old abandoned warehouse, Creed. Those aren't good."

Vicky sighed. "If there's a problem, you blow something up, okay?"

"Great plan."

"Beats Kacie's."

"Yeah, so do Dr. Doom's." 

"Okay, let's enter the old abandoned warehouse of eeevil," Vicky said.

"It's dark in here," Marie said. "You got a light, Vic?"

"Don't I always?" Vicky took out her Zippo and flipped it open. She looked around in the dim light. "Don't see a damn thing. Don't smell anything either." She paused. "Wait, I heard something."

Suddenly, bright lights came on, making Marie and Vicky both cover their eyes. "_Guten Tag, Frauleins."_

"Um, hey there big German guy," Vicky said to the man that stepped out of the shadows.

"I am Klaus, and I have come to give you your instructions—if you have agreed to pledge your loyalty to Mr. Sinister that is."

"Yeah, we've done that," Vicky replied. "What next?"

Klaus pulled two pieces of paper out of his briefcase. "You sign here."

"In blood?" Vicky asked.

"That will not be necessary."

"Good, cause I'm anemic." Vicky grinned.

"Just sign the papers."

Marie leaned over and whispered in Vicky's ear. "Should we be doing this?"

"We've come this far, Cajun." Vicky signed the paper.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Marie muttered as she signed, too.

*** *** ***

"These are the crappiest directions ever," Vicky said, pulled over at the side of the road trying to find where they were on a map. "They want us to find the base without telling us where it is."

"Well, we could've just flown, but someone wouldn't leave her car," Marie snapped.

"Jeez, Marie, bitchy much?"

"I've been in a car with you for almost two days. What do you think, Creed?"

"Oh yeah, and it's been sooo much fun for me. You're such a bundle of sunshine, LeBeau."

Marie crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. Klaus had offered to fly them to Sinister's base, but Vicky just couldn't leave it behind. She wouldn't even call Ric to have him come get it and take it back to the mansion. Apparently, only Vicky could touch the precious Camaro. 

"Where the fuck are we anyway?" Vicky said, her tone exasperated. "These back roads are confusing as hell."

"We're in Louisiana."

"How do you know? Did you see a sign?"

Marie gave Vicky the "you're an idiot" look. "Vicky, I know Louisiana. Trust me, it's where we are."

"All right, swamp girl, I'll take your word on it."

Marie pulled her sunglasses back over her eyes and leaned back in the seat. "I can't handle this anymore. Just tell me when we get there."

"What! Hey, this is your territory, kid. You gotta help me navigate it."

"I didn't say I had a magic swamp map in my head, Creed. I just said I knew it was Louisiana."

"Last time I take you on a road trip," Vicky muttered as she started the car up and attempted to find her way to Sinister's latest secret base.

*** *** ***

Marius Boudreaux sat on the Lapin's couch, more creeped out than he'd ever been in his entire life. As if seeing Candra swoop off with Emil like a psychotic bird of prey hadn't been enough, now he had to sit here with three of those creepy Lapin brats staring at him. 

"You an assassin?"

Marius raised an eyebrow "_Oui."_

"You gonna eat my head?"

"_Non. What's your name anyway, kid?"_

"I'm Jean-Pierre. And dis is Jean-Marc. And dis is our litt'lest brot'er, Jean-Jean."

Jean-Jean screamed at the top of his lungs.

"He don' like your freaky purple eyes, _Monsieur_ Assassin."

"Dat's great."

Lucinda ran into the room, wooden spoon waving wildly in the air. "What you doin' to my boy, Assassin?"

Marius groaned inwardly. Was that his name to these people? "Not'in'. He jus' started screamin'."

"De assassin looked at J.J. funny, Mama."

Lucinda ran to her son, grabbing him and pressing him to her as if to shield him from evil. "You stop lookin' at my boy!"

"I promise I will never look in the vicinity of any of your children ever again."

"You better not! Emil, you come hold a shotgun at de assassin. He's gettin' feisty."

Marius slumped. Some days, he really hated his life…

*** *** ***

"This place smells like your cousin, Marie," Vicky said as they walked up to Sinister's lair.

"Very funny, Creed."

"So what do we do, knock on the massive metal door?"

Marie shrugged. "I guess."

Vicky started to knock, but before she did, the door slid open, revealing a tall, blonde woman. Vicky sniffed the air. "Klaus?"

The woman blinked. "Right," she said with a German accent. "Sensitive smelling. My name is really Rhiannon Wagner. Come, I will show you to your rooms."

Vicky and Marie followed Rhiannon through long, creepy-looking hallways. "So, uh, Rhiannon, why were you dressed up like a dude?" Vicky asked.

"None of your business." Rhiannon opened a door. "You will be staying here. Dinner will be served in three hours. If you don't eat it then, you eat nothing." Rhiannon walked away.

"Wow. What a bitch," Vicky said. She walked into her room, slinging her bag on the top bunk. "This is crappier than my bunk at boarding school. It smells like something died in here."

"Probably did. And how come you get the top bunk?"

"Because I'm older."

_An angel's smile is what you sell  
You promise me heaven, then put me through hell  
Chains of love got a hold on me  
When passion's a prison, you can't break free_

Vicky stopped. "Is that Bon Jovi?"

_You're a loaded gun  
There's nowhere to run  
No one can save me  
The damage is done  
   
Shot through the heart  
And you're to blame  
You give love a bad name  
I play my part and you play your game  
You give love a bad name_

Marie cocked an eyebrow. "What, is Sinister from Jersey?"

"Let's go investigate."

Vicky and Marie walked out into the hall and towards the sound of Eighties Hair Greatness. They found a skinny, pink-haired girl bouncing around a room. "Uh, hi," Vicky said.

"Hi!" the girl said in a squeal. "I'm Arclight!"

"I'm Slayer, and this is Charger."

"Slayer and Charger weren't original Marauders!"

"Um, no. We weren't alive then."

"Mister Sinister says we all have to have our parents' names. So, like, who are you guys?"

"We told you, Charger and Slayer," Marie said, stepping a little behind Vicky.

"Aw, come on, Marie, play along. I'm Sabretooth, and this is Gambit." Vicky grinned psychotically and wrapped her arm around Marie.

"Ohmigod, you guys are like the bad ones!" She raised her hands up, and flash of light hit Vicky in the eyes.

Vicky blinked, stumbling back. "Dammit, what are you, the human flashbulb?"

"I make bright lights." Arclight frowned. "But they like, aren't very strong."

"When I can see again, you and Bon Jovi are both dead."

"You stay away from my music! Bon Jovi is a god!" She slammed the door in their faces.

"Lamest powers ever," Marie muttered.

"Yeah, try them with heightened senses," Vicky said. She shook her head, eyesight returning. "Come on, _Gambit_, let's go back to our room for a bit. This place is giving off that creepy vibe."

"All right, _Sabretooth. Let's go."_

*** *** ***

"Gone to spy on Sinister. Be back sometime in the near future."

Kacie put the note on the kitchen table. "Well, guess they're gone for a bit," she said with a shrug. "Pity, too. Vicky and I were supposed to go shoe shopping tomorrow."

Logan growled. "Dammit, what do they think they're trying to pull? They're X-Men, they're supposed to be more responsible than this."

"They are trying to be responsible, Adanya," Ric said. "They got invitations to join the new Marauders, and they went to see what Sinister was up to. They're trying to help the X-Men out."

Logan cut Ric a look. "Did you know anything about this beforehand?"

Ric shrugged. "Vicky brought it up. I figure she'd do whatever she wanted to."

"And you didn't tell me about it?"

"Why should I have?"

"Because I'm the leader!" Logan snapped. "I'm supposed to be kept informed about any sort of 'secret missions' the members of my team may be embarking on."

Kacie rolled her eyes. "All right, _Scott_. Take a bit of a chill pill, there."

"Can it, Drake."

Illyana leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed over her chest. "Well, I'm glad they're gone. Vicky at least. I am so sick of having to deal with that raging whore."

Kacie mumbled something that may have been "takes one to know one."

Kris narrowed his eyes. "Marie had no right to leave without telling me. She could get hurt, and I cannot protect her."

Ric turned to Kris. "My sister can handle herself without you, Rasputin. And she doesn't have to answer to you or anyone else."

"Whatever, LeBeau."

"Look, let's all just relax about this," Billy said from beside Kacie. "Vicky and Marie may have acted a little rashly, but they were doing what they felt was best for the team. Besides, they might even be right."

Logan threw her hands up. "I can't deal with this right now." She stomped out of the kitchen.

The room was silent. Kacie held up a cereal box.

"Sugar Bombs, anyone?"

*** *** ***


	3. Chapter Three

Emil sighed, slouching against his bonds. The chains Candra had on him were beginning to chafe, and he wished he could convince her that he wasn't going to run. Granted, he didn't much enjoy being her prisoner, but he'd already seen how things were going to turn out, and he knew he had to stick around. Eventually, it would all turn out for the best.

Candra walked past Emil, looking at him with a discerning gaze. "I suppose you're wondering why I've taken you."

"Not really," Emil replied. After all, it was the truth. He knew exactly why Candra had him. And exactly what would come of it. It was his lot in life. 

Candra kept talking as if Emil hadn't said a thing. "I've decided to take revenge on Gambit for the blow he dealt me twenty years ago, but first I have to lure him here. I wanted to take his daughter captive so he'd have to come rescue her, but she seemed like she might be a bit of a challenge, so I needed someone fairly incompetent to lure her. I chose you."

"Gee, t'anks."

Emil didn't point out just how pointless it was to drag all this up two decades after it happened in the first place. Or the fact that her double-bait plan to kidnap Gambit was just plain stupid. As ridiculous as the whole thing may be, Emil had it on good authority that it was part of the cosmic plan of the universe.

So he just sat back and let Candra rant. Help would be there soon enough…

*** *** ***

Marie and Vicky walked into the dining room, the other Marauders already at the table. Vicky leaned down and whispered. "They look less competent than our team back home…"

Marie nodded. They did look more like escapees from a mental institution than anything else. "So what do we do, Creed?" Marie asked.

"We sit down and hope Sinny didn't poison the food."

Marie shrugged. It was as good a plan as any.

Shortly after Marie and Vicky came to the table, Rhiannon came into the room. She clapped her hands brusquely, and the Marauders all turned to look at her. "Good evening," she said. "First off, I would like to extend an apology on behalf of Mr. Sinister for not being able to attend tonight's meal. He is quite busy with his very important work. However, he does send his gratitude to all of you for agreeing to help him in his crusade. Secondly, I would like for all of you to introduce yourself. It will be helpful if we are all aware of everyone's powers."

Vicky rolled her eyes. Just what she wanted to do, get to know the Marauders. At least they didn't have to play one of those dumb getting-to-know-you games from elementary school, like the one where you had to say you were going on a picnic and were bringing a food that began with the same first letter as your name. Vicky had especially hated that one. What were you supposed to bring when your name started with a "V?" Veal? Vegetarian sausage? Vidalia onions?

Arclight jumped up, her short, pink pigtails bouncing. "I'm Arclight!" She announced. "And I make really bright flashes of light!"

"Bon Jovi sucks," Vicky said, her words thinly-veiled with a fake cough. Arclight gave her a malicious look and sat back down.

A scrawny boy with round glasses stood up next. Vicky wondered if his powers were being incredibly nerdy. "Um, I'm Blockbuster," he said nervously. "I have super-human strength, and can lift twice my body weight, which means I can lift almost two hundred pounds."

"And I bet he plays a mean Dungeons and Dragons," Marie whispered to Vicky. Vicky smirked. Maybe her sarcastic sense of humor was finally rubbing off on LeBeau.

"I'm Harpoon…I can put energy in stuff, and then throw it." He looked down. "Still working on my aim, though, so sorry if I hit any of you guys."

Vicky rolled her eyes. This was getting better by the moment.

A shimmering girl who appeared to be made of glass stood next. "I'm Prism. I'm not sure what help I can be, since I might break if I go into battle, but I'll do my best…"

"I'm Riptide," the next boy said. "I can spin really fast, but it makes me puke." He sat down quickly.

A large man who looked like he could've just walked off the set of _Deliverance_ was next. "Uh…I ain't a mutant. But I got a big gun. Oh yeah…name's Scalphunter."

Suddenly, Vicky started to appreciate the X-Men. Dysfunctional as they may be, at least they weren't these guys…

A handsome, but psychotic-looking Asian man stood. "I'm Scrambler. I can stop any mutant from using his or her ability simply by touch." He met Vicky's eyes. "Any mutant."

Vicky decided that one gave off a creepy vibe. Unlike the others, she'd have to watch that one…

"I'm Vertigo," the last man slurred, leaning on the table as he tried to stand. "I can knock off yer balance." He slipped back in his chair.

Vicky realized it was her turn next. She rose to her full height, grinning psychotically. "I'm Sabretooth. I kill people."

The Marauders all recoiled, and Vicky expected Marie to shoot her a look that said "knock it off." Instead, she stood up. "I'm Gambit. I blow shit up." She winked and sat back down beside Vicky. Vicky smirked.

Rhiannon cleared her throat, then gave Vicky and Marie disapproving looks. "Well, now that we all know who we are, let's eat, shall we?"

None of the Marauders said a word as dinner was served.

*** *** ***

"So you kill people, huh?"

Vicky turned around to see Scrambler leaning by the door to her room. "Yeah. Get outta my way before yer next, boy." She gave her best Sabretooth look.

"There's no need for threats, cutie. The way I see it, we got something in common. Maybe we can go on a killing spree together."

"Look, buddy, you got the crazy eyes. My dad told me to stay away from people with crazy eyes. Now scram."

Scrambler smiled. "If you insist." He took her hand and kissed it in a mock-chivalrous gesture. "Good night, milady."

Vicky rolled her eyes and went into her room. Marie was already on the bottom bunk, reading the latest issue of _Vogue_. "Is it just me, or are these guys completely useless."

"They're losers, all of them," Marie said, not looking up from the magazine.

"What is Sinister thinking? I mean, these guys couldn't even knock over a 7-11, never mind do anything that might require a battle plan. And that creepy Scrambler guy just hit on me."

"Yeah, well, Vertigo hit on me. He said I didn't know good sex until I did it with my sense of balance all outta whack."

"How romantic."

"I charged his whiskey bottle, and threatened to do the same to his balls. He left me alone after that."

Vicky cocked an eyebrow. She didn't know Marie had that in her. "Yeah, that'll do it."

Vicky climbed up on the top bunk, staring up at the ceiling. "I keep thinking about what my dad would do to me if I knew I was here. He always told me to stay away from stuff like this."

"Since when have you done what you're told? You were probably born a hellion."

"Hey, I was a good kid," Vicky snapped. "I never acted up."

"Why? Afraid your dad would hurt you?"

"Dad never laid a hand on me. I just…I just didn't want to disappoint him."

"Then why'd you get yourself kicked out of boarding school?"

Vicky frowned. She didn't appreciate Marie's snotty tone. "The headmaster's son got a little too frisky at one of those stupid dances we always had to go to. I threatened to rip off his own arm and beat him with it. Apparently, that didn't go over so well with his dad."

Vicky heard Marie flip the page of her magazine. "That's surprising. Never thought you'd be the type to even say no."

Vicky stiffened at that. "For your _information_, Marie," she said through gritted teeth, "I've never said yes. I know what you people think I am, but I'm not a bad person, and I'm not here to make the lives of the X-Men miserable. Sure, I wasn't serious when I first showed up, but I am now. I actually give a damn about this team and what it means. I've put my life on the line time and time again for the world and for the X-Men, and if you or Rachel_,_ or_ Wildcat_, or anyone else can't appreciate it then fine. Fuck you all. I'm doing this because it's what I feel is the right thing to do, and I'll give my all to this team even if I never get any thanks for it. Despite what you people think about my father, he raised me well, and I know the difference between right and wrong. So yeah, Marie, I am the type to say no. I don't take my commitments lightly, in my love life or anything else."

Marie started, unsure of what to say. "Vicky…"

"Don't start, LeBeau. I'm getting some sleep."

Vicky rolled over and stared at the wall for a long time before finally falling asleep.

*** *** ***

Marie knew she was probably putting their entire plan at risk, but she didn't like the idea of being out here without the X-Men knowing where they were. What if something went wrong?

She crept out of the compound, surprised at how poorly guarded it was. She was thinking more and more that Sinister had really gone and completely flipped his lid. She went out to Vicky's car, figuring it would be as safe a place as any. She doubted anyone had bugged it.

She held her cellphone in the air, moving it back and forth until she finally picked up a signal. A weak one, but a signal nonetheless. The phone rang four times before someone answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Illyana, it's Marie. Is Ric there?"

"Marie, it's two o'clock in the morning."

"I know, I'm sorry. I just need to talk to him."

Marie heard Illyana waking her brother up, and a few moments later, Ric was on the line. "Marie, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. So is Vicky. I just wanted to let y'all know basically where we are—in case things go sour. But don't send anyone down here, all right? So far everything's going as well as could be expected."

"All right," Ric agreed. "Where are you?"

"Louisiana. Bayou country."

"Guess you feel right at home, then."

"Yeah. Could be a lot worse."

Ric paused for a moment. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. Look, I need to get back in before anyone notices I'm missing. I love you, Ric."

"I love you too, sis. Try to stay in touch, all right? If something goes wrong, I want to have an idea of it before it's too late."

"How about this—if you don't hear from me or Victoria for forty-eight hours straight, you guys come looking for us."

"Okay. Be careful."

"I will be. Bye."

"Bye."

Marie turned her phone off then slipped back into the building undetected.

*** *** ***

Marius stood outside of the Thieves Guild's base of operations seething. He'd come to warn them, tried to prevent Candra from doing anything to any of them, and they were treating him like the enemy. They wouldn't let him in as they met to discuss what to do, instead sticking him outside with one of their guards holding a gun on him. This whole feud was ridiculous as far as Marius was concerned. Just because of his name they assumed he was going to try to kill them all. It was ludicrous. 

Remy LeBeau walked outside and Marius jumped a little. "Evenin', _Monsieur_ LeBeau," he said with a bow.

Remy waved away the guard. "I can take it from here. You go on inside."

The guard nodded, giving Marius a glare before going back in. Marius didn't relax any. He knew Gambit was just as deadly as the armed guard—if not more.

"I'm not here to hurt you or any of your Guild," Marius said.

"I know," Remy said. "But what I wanna know is why you are here. Does Belle know?"

"No. As far as my _maman_ knows, I jus' went back to de city. I'm here 'cause I got wind of what Candra was up to, an' didn't want nothin' happenin' to Marie…or any of de T'ieves."

Remy didn't miss that Marius had put Marie first, but decided he could delve into that later. After he forbid his daughter from getting any closer than arms' length to Belladonna's son. "So what's Candra up to den?"

"Not sure exactly. I jus' overheard her talkin' to Belle. Apparently she's helpin' her."

Remy paled a little at that. "Why is she helpin' Candra? She wanted dat witch gone same as I did."

"Belle ain't been all right recently, Remy. She's gone back to bein' bitter, back to hatin' de T'ieves. An' Candra promised she'd get her de Elixir."

"_Merde. Dat what dis is all about?" Remy cursed under his breath. "Belladonna Boudreaux, I never knew you'd go an be so stupid." He met Marius's gaze. "You hear anyt'ing else?"_

"Jus' that Candra wants you dead for takin' away her power over de Guilds. An' that she's trying to kidnap Marie to lure you."

"Dat woman hurt one hair on my lil' girl's head an' I'll see dat she dies—External or no."

"You know where Marie is?" Marius asked. "Mebbe we can get to her in time—warn her 'bout what Candra's up to."

Remy nodded. "She should be in New York, wit' de X-Men."

"Yeah. She was de last time I saw her."

Remy gave Marius a puzzled look. "What were you doin' in New York?"

"Tryin' to kill Emil Lapin."

Remy shrugged. Sounded reasonable enough, especially after Emil had stolen Marius's fiancée. "I'll call dem, make sure Marie stays put."

"Can I come inside? Dere's a lot of bugs out here. Dey're eatin' me alive."

Remy smirked. "Yeah. Jus' stay beside me, so no one gets de idea in deir head to shoot ya."

Marius swallowed. "Sure."

Marius followed Remy into the house, shrinking under the glares of the Thieves. He watched as Remy dialed Marie's room at the Xavier mansion, then frowned as it rang with no answer. He hung up and tried her cellphone with the same results. Marius got a sickening feeling in his stomach. What if Candra had her already?

Remy picked up the phone again. "Who you callin' now?" Marius asked.

"My son."

"What?" Illyana Rasputin answered the phone gruffly, tired of being woken up.

Remy sucked in a deep breath. That woman was far from the first choice he would've made for his child. "Put Ric on."

"Who is this?"

"His father."

Illyana sighed, thrusting the phone at Ric. "Could you tell your damn family to stop calling at all hours of the night?"

Remy raised an eyebrow. One less point in his book for Illyana. He constantly debated on which one he liked less—her, or her brother. 

"Hey, Dad. What's wrong?"

"I can't reach your sister. She's not answerin' the phone in her room, an' her voice mail's pickin' up on de first ring, so I t'ink her cell's shut off."

Silence for a moment. "Um, did you need her for something important?"

Remy frowned. He knew when his son was keeping something from him. He starting getting all evasive, just like his mother. "Yeah. You know where she is?"

"Yes."

"Care to tell me?"

"I…well…I can't."

Remy rubbed his temple with the hand that wasn't holding the phone. "Ric, it's important. Your sister's life might be at stake."

Ric sat up. "Who's trying to hurt her?"

"Candra."

"Candra! What does she have to do with anything? I thought you and Mom got rid of her shortly after I was born."

"We did. But she's back. And word on de street is she's trying to kidnap your sister. I wanted to warn her, make sure she stays outta Louisiana."

"Shit."

"Ric, what is it you ain't tellin' me."

"She's already in Louisiana."

"What's she doin' here? She ain't wit' de Guild…"

"No. She's…she's with Sinister."

"What!" Remy tried unsuccessfully to stay calm. "What de hell is she doin' wit' him? Did he take her?"

"No. She went willingly."

"Willingly!" Remy yelled. "_Mon Dieu_! What in de name of all t'ings holy is dat girl t'inkin'!"

Ric knew Marie wouldn't want him to go into details with their father, but with Candra on the warpath Marie's life could be at stake if he didn't. "Sinister's reforming the Marauders with the children of people who were associated with them before. Marie and Vicky both got…invitations. They decided to go and see what he was up to."

"Dis was de Creed girl's idea, wasn't it?"

"Hey, lay of Vicky, all right, Dad? She isn't her father, and her decision to infiltrate Sinister's base was one based on concern for the X-Men. And Marie chose to go on her own. Vicky didn't force her."

Remy held his tongue. He knew there was no point in arguing anything with his son. He was willful and stubborn—also like his mother. "You know where in Louisiana she is?"

"No. She just called a little bit ago and said she was there."

"Fine. I'll look for her. If she contacts you again, let her know about Candra."

"I will. Be careful, Dad. If you alert Sinister to Marie's real intentions by snooping around…"

"Boy, I've been doin' dis sorta t'ing since before you were a twinkle in my eye. I'm not gonna do anyt'ing dat could get Marie hurt."

"Yeah. That all you wanted?"

"Yeah. Go back t'sleep."

"Bye, Dad."

"Bye."

Remy hung up the phone angrily. "If it weren't for de eyes, I'd wonder if dat boy was even mine. Sometimes I t'ink he don't have a brain in his head."

Marius smirked. "So where's Marie?"

"She gone an' joined Sinister."

"Who is he?"

"Jus' a man so evil Hell spit him back out again," Remy said, slightly hysterical. "What was dat girl t'inking! She gonna get herself killed, she is!"

Marius paled. "Is she in trouble?"

"Her know-not'in' brot'er don't seem to t'ink so, but I disagree. He say Marie's jus' infiltratin' Sinister's base, an' she know exactly what she's doin', but Sinister, he ain't stupid. He'll figure her out quick, an' when he does, dere's gonna be lots of bad stuff happenin'."

"So what do we do?"

"We? You ain't gonna do nothin', save go back home to your _maman."_

Marius's shoulders dropped. "_Monsieur _LeBeau…please."

"_Non. Look, I know you mean well, and you ain't like de rest of dem Assassins, but dis is still over your head. Belle hates me enough wit'out me draggin' her boy into somet'ing dat's gonna get him killed."_

Marius straightened back up. "Look, I can hol' my own. Really. I wanna help. I wanna help Marie…"

"You don' need to. An' I want you to stay 'way from my daughter anyhow. You too old for her."

"She's jus' my friend…"

"Whatever. Jus' run on home now. T'anks for de warnin's an' all, but you've done all de good your gonna do for now."

"But…"

"_Non! Look, as long as you on T'ieves territory, I'm in charge, an' I say you ain't goin' wit' me. Now git, boy."_

Marius clenched his teeth, but didn't argue it any further. "_Oui, __Monsieur," he said with a low bow. He turned and walked out of the Thieves Guild Headquarters, daring any of those glorified pickpockets to mess with him in the mood he was in._

He didn't care what Remy LeBeau had to say, Marie was in trouble, and he was going to help save her. After all, maybe it would help her start learning to love him…

*** *** ***

Okay, now you review, and I'll get to work on the next chapter. ;) 


	4. Chapter Four

"Vicky, why are you standing beside that closet?"

"No reason, Marie," Vicky said, leaning against the closet door.

Marie heard a noise from behind Vicky and frowned. "Is that Harpoon?"

"Maybe."

Marie put her hands on her hips. "Vicky, you know he has issues with small, dark places. Only two days, and already this 'Sabretooth' thing is starting to go to your head."

"He went on this rant about how much he wasn't afraid me, so I decided to show him something he would be afraid of," Vicky explained with a casual shrug.

"You're cruel. Let him out."

"I guess if you want. But he's no picnic, let me tell you."

"Vicky…"

Vicky sighed and stepped away from the door. "Fine, have it your way."

Marie opened the door and Harpoon looked up from the fetal ball he was curled in. He jumped up and began to flail his arms wildly. "I'll kill both of you!" he screamed. "You're both a couple of psychos, and I know you're going to be nothing but trouble! I'm going to tell Rhiannon on you! I'll…"

Marie slammed the door again, pushing a chair under the handle to make sure it stayed that way. "Geez, what a jerk."

"I tried to tell you," Vicky said. "I don't torment people without provocation. Well, except Logan, but that's only because it's so damn easy."

Marie rolled her eyes. "Come on, I think it's almost dinner time."

*** *** ***

"Ric, it's Marie."

"Marie! Where are you? Are you still in Louisiana?" 

"Yes. I just wanted to let you know Vicky and I are okay. I have to go."

"Marie, wait," Ric said, wanting to warn her about Candra.

"Ric, I have to go. Bye."

The phone clicked. "Dammit," Ric said, hanging up the phone. His father was not going to be happy…

*** *** ***

Mr. Sinister watched the first training session of his new Marauders. He wasn't smiling. "Rhiannon?"

"Yes?"

"What is this?"

"Your team. You asked me to gather the children of your original Marauders, and I have done so."

"Who is the tall blonde woman?"

"Victoria Creed."

"And the brunette _throwing charged cards_?"

"Uh, that would be Marie LeBeau."

"I did not wish for the children of Sabretooth and Gambit to be included, Rhiannon."

"You didn't specify…"

Sinister cut her off. "I shouldn't have had to. It was self-evident."

"Mr. Sinister, if you don't mind me saying, despite what your past experience with their fathers may have been, _frauleins _Creed and LeBeau are the two best warriors on the team. Other than Scrambler, the others seem…"

"Less than competent?"

"I was going to say unprepared for combat."

"Yes, well, that, too. Rhiannon, these _things _make a mockery of my work. Mutants as useless as these are nothing but a blemish on a perfect race." Sinister sighed. "Kill them, and we'll find better people and assemble a new team. Maybe I'll just clone their parents—again."

Rhiannon blanched. "Kill them?"

"Yes. They are no better than the Morlocks were."

"Mr. Sinister, you may be making a mistake."

"I do not make mistakes."

"Yes, well, that aside, these people may have more potential that you believe. They are still, for the most part, children. Their powers are still developing, and they could become quite a formidable team if you let them. You could take them now—while they are still impressionable—and mold them into a real strike force."

Sinister thought for a moment. "I will give you one week to transform them into something that doesn't make me ill to watch."

"One week! That isn't enough time!"

"Fine, two weeks, then. Otherwise, dispose of them. I'm going back to my lab. Do not disturb me."

Sinister left, and Rhiannon looked back on the training session. She really had her work cut out for her…

*** *** ***

Gambit was tense, frustrated with his nerves shot. He'd thought he knew the Louisiana Bayous better than anyone, but he couldn't find his daughter in them. Even the X-Men hadn't been able to locate her, claiming something was jamming Cerebro. Ric had told Gambit that Marie had called the night before, but she'd hung up before he could tell her about Candra.

Gambit didn't think Candra had Marie yet, but that didn't make him feel any better. If Candra didn't have her, then that meant Marie was still with Sinister, which Gambit thought was probably worse. Despite the fact that Ric had said that Sinister had invited Marie to join the new Marauders, Gambit didn't trust the whole thing. He didn't believe Sinister would exactly extend a warm and friendly welcome to anyone with the last name LeBeau.

Gambit clenched his fists, concern for his daughter's safety warring with his anger at her for doing something so foolish in the first place. He let out a deep breath, slumping against a wall. He'd exhausted every option he had, and still he hadn't come any closer to finding Marie.

He'd lost his daughter, and to top it all off, he had no idea how he was going to explain it to Rogue…

*** *** ***

"Where is your cousin? I know you know!"

Emil glared at Candra from his chains. "I tol' you, woman, I don' know."

"Yes, yes you do! She isn't at the Xavier Mansion—where is she? Where?"

"I don' know! Marie an' I haven't spoken in mont's."

"You're a liar. I can tell. I hate liars." Candra flipped her hair.

"I'm a t'ief, too. Jus' a dirty rotten bastard, me."

Candra threw her arms up in frustration as objects began to fly around the room. "I will find her, Emil. And then I'll lure her here, and use her to lure her father."

"You do dat, crazy lady."

Candra glared at him before storming out of the room, everything falling to the ground with the slamming of the door. Emil slumped. Marie really did need to hurry up…

*** *** ***

Marius opened the letter carefully. He never trusted anything without a return address. He was surprised to find the letter was from Emil—with directions on how to find Marie. Marius wondered how Emil could've possibly known that Marie was missing, and how he could've sent the letter without Candra knowing. Then, Marius noticed the postmark. It was the day _before_ Candra took Emil—and before anyone had known Marie was missing. Marius frowned. Either he was being set up, or Emil was psychic, and Marius didn't figure the latter to be true. If Emil Lapin could see the future, why did he do so many stupid things? But set up or not, Marius wasn't going to ignore the letter. 

It could be his one chance to save Marie.

*** *** ***

Rhiannon watched the Marauders as they attempted another training session. Prism had refused to even go, fearing she'd break. Vertigo was passed out drunk. Riptide had painted the room with his breakfast. Arclight wouldn't take off her headphones. Harpoon hadn't hit a single target. Blockbuster had sprained something. Scalphunter was out of ammo.

Rhiannon put her head in her hands. Granted, Sabretooth, Gambit, and Scrambler had proven themselves quite formidable, but the three of them couldn't possibly make up for the rest of the team. And in two weeks they were all dead if Rhiannon didn't come up with something quickly. She couldn't let that happen. She'd been accused more than once of having a cold heart, but she felt sorry for these children. She could imagine the type of lives they had lead up to this point. She needed a plan to save them.

Rhiannon let out a deep breath.

Desperate times called for desperate measures…

*** *** ***

"Sabretooth? Sabretooth!"

Vicky stopped when she realized she was the one being called. She hadn't gotten used to that yet. She turned, giving Rhiannon a grin that showed off her fangs. "Yeah?"

Rhiannon shifted uncomfortably. "I would like to talk to you about becoming field leader of the Marauders."

Vicky raised an eyebrow. "Me? Why me? You know who you're talking to, right?"

"Yes, I do. And I want you to do it because you're the member of the team that shows the most talent on the battlefield."

"But I can't do it!" Vicky exclaimed.

"Please, Victoria. I'm begging you."

"Begging me? What about Marie? She's as capable as I am. Well, maybe not _as_ capable, but she's still pretty good." The last thing Vicky wanted in all this mess was responsibility. 

"Frankly, because she's too young. She's what, fifteen?"

"Sixteen."

"Same thing." Rhiannon glanced around nervously. "I'm going to be honest with you. Mr. Sinister is _not_ happy with the Marauders. He says unless they're a decent team in two weeks, he wants them all dead."

"Whoa. That's harsh."

"To put it mildly."

"So you want me to what, perform a miracle? These people couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag. Hell, you put one on Harpoon's head, and he'll go catatonic."

"I don't know what you can do, but you're the only hope I have. I don't want Sinister to kill these children. They may be a little…_dysfunctional_…but they don't deserve to die because of it."

Vicky knew Rhiannon was right there. She couldn't believe she was agreeing to this. "I'll do what I can," she said.

"Thank you. I knew you couldn't be _that_ awful of a person."

Vicky rolled her eyes. "Speak for yourself, lady."

*** *** ***

Marie wasn't sure whether to laugh or yell. "How can you be the field leader?" she asked Vicky. "You're not actually getting involved in this thing are you?"

"Marie, whether you like it or not, we are involved, just by being here. And Rhiannon said that Sinister plans to kill the Marauders if they don't actually learn to fight."

"Vicky, you're a mutant, not a magician. You can't help these people. Let's just get out of here while we still can."

"You can't honestly be suggesting that we just leave them to die?"

"No! It's just that I don't think there's anything you can really do for them, and all we're doing by staying here is putting ourselves in danger."

"I'm not going anywhere until I know I've done all I can. Sure, these may be the most irritating people I've ever met, but I can't just leave them to Sinister's evil devices."

Marie threw her hands up. "I can't handle this. I'm going out to get some fresh air."

"As fresh as you can get in the middle of a damn swamp," Vicky muttered. "Watch out for hungry gators, Marie. One might eat you head."

Marie gave Vicky a dirty look and left the room in a huff. Vicky sat on the bottom bunk and wondered what exactly she was going to do.

*** *** ***

Marius looked around nervously, half-expecting someone to jump out and attack him. The letter had told him to wait here, and at exactly 6:27, Marie would show up. Marius looked down at his watch and saw it change to 6:27. As soon as it did, Marie walked out from behind a group of trees. Marius shivered. Either this was an extraordinarily well planned trap, or it was the eeriest experience of his life. "Marie," he said, just loud enough for her to hear him, still afraid something unsavory would appear. 

Marie looked up, and from the expression on her face, Marius could tell she honestly hadn't expected him to be there. She went over to him quickly. "What the hell are you doing here?" Marie asked.

"Lookin' f'you."

"How did you find me?"

Marius shrugged. "I have my ways. Look, Marie, you're in trouble. Candra's after you an' your papa."

"Candra? You mean the External the Guilds used to tithe to?"

"_Oui_."

"But why? She's been gone longer than I've been alive."

"She wants Gambit. And she set a trap f'you in order to set a trap for him."

"That's ridiculous!" Marie paused. "Wait a second—what do you mean set a trap for me…" Marie began to back up.

Marius sighed. "I ain't de trap, you crazy _fille_. Candra took Emil to bait you wit'."

Marie's eyes grew wide, and her hand went to her mouth "No. When?"

"A few days ago. Gambit, he been lookin' f'you, too."

"I have to go after Emil."

"No, chère. Dat's jus' what Candra wants you to do—so she can trap you an' lure Gambit."

"_Merde_. So what am I supposed to do then?"

"I don't know. We don't even know where Candra took him."

Marie took Marius's hands, looking up into his eyes. Marius felt a knot in his stomach, and reminded himself she was still underage. "But we have to help Emil. I know you don't like him, but he's still my cousin. I can't just leave him to Candra's whims."

"I know, chère. I ain't proposin' we jus' leave de guy to die or anyt'ing like dat. We jus' can't go rushin' in to dis."

"Then what, Marius?"

Marius smiled slowly. "Wait. I t'ink dere may be somet'ing…"

"What?"

"See, Belle, she been helpin' Candra, an'…"

Marie jumped back from him. "Your mother's involved in all of this. Marius…"

"Just hush an' let me finish. Yeah, she's involved, but dat doesn't mean I have a damn t'ing to do wit' it. Belle an' I ain't exactly close. Anyway, dere's a good chance she'll know where Candra is. I may be able to figure it out from her."

"What, do you think Belladonna's just going to tell you where Candra is hiding Emil?"

"No." He smiled and tapped Marie on the nose. "But you T'ieves don' got de patent on bein' sneaky."

Marie frowned. "How long will it take you?"

"Don' know, but I'll not to drag it out. Meet me back here tomorrow night, say nine o'clock?"

"Okay. _Bonne chance_, Marius."

"_Merci_, chère." Marius kissed Marie's cheek and disappeared back into the swamp.

*** *** ***

"Hey Vicky."

Vicky took one look at Marie and frowned. "You look bad. Swallow some swamp water?" Marie sat down beside Vicky on the bed and burst into tears. Vicky pulled back a little, then patted Marie's back awkwardly. "Uh, something happen?"

Marie sniffed. "Candra…kidnapped…Emil."

"Huh?"

"Candra. The External. She kidnapped Emil."

"When?"

"A few days ago." Marie wiped at her eyes. "Apparently she's using him as bait to capture me so she can set a trap for my father."

"That's a roundabout way of doing things. How'd you find this out?"

"Marius Boudreaux told me."

"When did you talk to him?"

"Just now. He was outside looking for me."

"And he found you how exactly?"

Marie shrugged. "He just said he had his ways."

Vicky decided to let that one slide. Marie's creepy swamp buddies were somewhat of an enigma to her anyway. "So you think this Candra woman would hurt your cousin?"

"She might. She's not exactly playing with a full deck."

Vicky sighed. "I guess this means we're going to have to pull off some sort of rescue for gator boy."

Marie looked at Vicky in surprise. "You'd help me save Emil?"

"Well, yeah. If it weren't for him I'd be tiny bits o' Vicky back at the Ultramites base. And besides, he has a cute butt. Though don't you dare tell him I said that."

Marie smirked. "I won't."

"You better not. I'll deny it to my grave anyway." Vicky cleared her throat. "So what's the gameplan?"

"None yet. Marius went to see if he could find Candra. Apparently that psycho bitch he calls a mother is in on the whole thing, and Marius thinks he might be able to use that to our advantage."

"Belladonna's in on this, and you trust Marius?"

"Well, yeah." Marie shifted uncomfortably. "As much hell as I give him, Marius isn't like the other Assassins. Even when I was a little kid, and I used to help Emil pull pranks on him all the time, I knew that. And he's…nice to me."

"He wants to bang you."

Marie sat up straight. "What? Vicky, that's crazy. I'm only sixteen! And he's already in his twenties."

"And that's why he hasn't really put the moves on you yet. But watch out when you turn eighteen…"

"Vicky, that isn't funny."

"It's the truth, though."

Marie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Look, we need to focus on coming up with a way to get Emil out of Candra's grasp."

Vicky nodded. Marie was right. And for some reason, she found herself genuinely worried about Emil. She pushed that thought aside and got to work on helping Marie.

*** *** ***

"Why do we have to listen to you?" Arclight asked, glaring at Vicky.

"Because Rhiannon made me the field leader, that's why. Now here's what we're going to do…"

"I don't want to listen to you!" Harpoon said.

Marie mouthed "closet" from beside Vicky. Harpoon shrunk away.

"Look, you guys are pathetic. You need help," Vicky said. "As it stands, I'm ashamed to be seen with the lot of you."

"Even me?" Scrambler asked with psychotic puppy dog eyes.

"Yes, but for an entirely different reason. Honestly, I'm only trying to help you out, make you something that can actually at the very least hit a nonmoving target. So will you please listen to me?"

"No," Blockbuster said. "Arclight said you're evil, and you want to kill us all."

"Oh yes, listen to Bon Joviette. I'm not here to kill any of you. Really."

"Well, I'm not training with you as the field leader," Riptide said. "I'm leaving. Who's with me?"

The Marauders mumbled their agreement as everyone but Marie and Scrambler followed Riptide out. Scrambler walked up to Vicky. "How about a little one-on-one training, then?" He looked over and Marie and grinned. "Or maybe a little two-on-one?"

Vicky pushed him. "Ew. Get away from us, you troll. Come on Marie."

Marie looked at Scrambler with disgust and walked out with Vicky.

"You're missing the best you could ever have!"

*** *** ***

Marius had searched his mother's room and her computer's hard drive while she'd been out, but he hadn't found a single mention of Candra. He was beginning to run out of hope. He was supposed to meet with Marie in a few hours, and he still had nothing. That was no way to get her to start liking him…

Marius paced his room at the Assassin's base, wracking his brain to come up with something, anything, to bring to Marie. Suddenly, it hit him. Candra had been there, speaking with Belladonna. It was possible that she hadn't left. There was a building a little ways behind the main house that the Assassins used from time to time. It would be the perfect place for Candra to hide—secluded and where the Thieves would want to come.

Marius rushed out the door. Maybe he wouldn't have to disappoint Marie after all.

*** *** ***

"T'ree, two, one…" The door opened, and Emil looked up. "Hey, Marius. Right on schedule."

"Emil! You are here!" Marius blinked. "Right on schedule?"

"Yeah."

Marius shook his head, deciding he didn't want to ask. "Come on. I need to get you out of here."

"No. Just go tell Marie where I am, like you were planning' in de first place."

Marius frowned. Things just kept getting creepier. "But I can't jus' leave you here."

"You have to." Emil started to explain to Marius that moving him right now would screw up a whole long important chain of events, but he was afraid Marius's tiny brain might explode or something. "Look, you take me now, Candra will jus' get angrier. You come back wit' Marie an' we'll have a better chance of takin' care of Candra once and for all."

Marius nodded. That made sense. "I'll be back soon den. You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. And Marius, when you come back, tell Marie to bring her new 'friends.' They'll be more useful dan she t'inks, and it'll solve de ot'er problem wit' dem, too."

"Huh?"

"She'll understand. Jus' get outta here, Assassin. 'Fore Candra comes back and makes gator bait outta you."

"All right. Hang in dere, Emil."

"I will."

*** *** ***

De plot t'ickens… Anyway, leave a review, and let me know what you think of all this so far! 


	5. Chapter Five

Marie stood nervously, waiting for Marius. She heard a twig snap behind her, and she twirled around, a charged card in her hand.

"You ain't plannin' t'blast me t'bits, are ya, _chère_?"

Marie let out a deep breath, the card fizzling in her hand. "It's you, Marius."

"You were expectin' mebbe de Easter Bunny?"

Marie rolled her eyes. "You're late. I was about to give up on you."

"Sorry. I found Emil."

Marie blinked. "Is he all right?"

"Yeah, he's fine. Candra's got him, but she ain't hurt 'im none."

Marie let out a sigh of relief. "So where is he?"

"Little place out behind the Assassin's hideout."

"Did you see him?"

"_Oui_. I wanted him to come wit' me, but he was afraid of it makin' Candra too angry. So he tol' me to come get you, and dat we could come back and take down Candra. Also said to bring your new 'friends,' whatever dat means. He said dat would solve two problems."

Marie frowned at that. Could Emil mean the Marauders? They couldn't' possibly be any use against Candra. But what else could he mean? And as for the two problems—well, if the Marauders actually were effective against Candra, that would solve the problem of dealing with her as well as the one of proving their abilities to Sinister… It was a longshot, but Marie had learned to trust Emil's little intuitions. "There's a team of, um, fighters, here." Marie said. "Vicky and I have been training with them—sort of. They're probably who Emil means."

"Vicky Creed?"

"Yeah."

"She gonna help us?"

"She said she would."

"Good. She's de kinda person you want on your side. Good an' scary. So what's de gameplan, _chère_?"

"Meet me back here, at the same time tomorrow. I should have everyone rounded up by then. We'll move out then and surprise attack Candra."

"Sounds good to me. I'll see you den, Marie."

Marie nodded. "Take care of yourself, Marius."

"You, too."

*** *** ***

"Vicky, I gotta talk to you."

Vicky opened one eye. "Fine. Just stop shaking me, LeBeau." Vicky sat up on the bunk, rubbing her face. "I don't know what time it is, but I'm guessing it's some ungodly hour. What's up?"

"Marius found Emil."

Vicky snapped awake at that. "He did!? Is Emil okay? Candra didn't hurt him did she?" She frowned. "I mean, uh, the only person I want hurting that bastard is me."

Marie cocked an eyebrow. "Right. Yeah, he's fine. Look, Marius said that Candra's keeping Emil outside the Assassin hideout. He talked to him, and told Emil to tell us to come back—with the Marauders."

"The Marauders! How does Emil even know we're with them?"

"Um, he's got a bit of…intuition."

"Intuition?" Vicky thought back to their fight with the Ultramites, where he'd somehow known she'd be in danger before it had even happened—and subsequently saved her life. "Precognition sounds more like it."

"Yeah, that, too."

Vicky blinked a bit. "So Emil's a mutant?"

"I think so. He's never said, but yeah, that's where I'd place the smart money."

"Wow."

"Anyway, no time to discuss Emil's DNA structure at the moment. We have to figure out some way to convince the Marauders to come with us and fight Candra."

Vicky frowned. "Well, we have Arclight covered—hold her Bon Jovi CD's hostage. But as for the others… Hey, maybe we could lead Vertigo there with a trail of Jack Daniels."

"Creed, this is serious."

"You know, you are absolutely no fun."

"Look, we need a plan that'll actually work."

"My plan would so work."

Marie rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Look, we have to think. Wait…you're the leader now. Maybe if you order them to go, they just will."

"Marie, sweetie, I think you've been drinking the swamp water again. Since when did these rejects listen to me? And you think they're going to just because I'm their leader for some bizarre reason? Come on, think about it. Logan's our leader—when's the last time we listened to her?"

Marie frowned. "Yeah, you have a point there. So what _do_ we do?"

Vicky mirrored Marie's frown for just a moment before the corners on her mouth began to turn up. "Wait, I got it."

"What?"

Vicky grabbed Marie's arm and started to drag her from the room. "Come on. I'll fill you in on the way."

*** *** ***

Emil really hoped his uncanny ability to predict future events hadn't chosen this time to be finally wrong. The images he'd been getting of this "team" that was supposed to be coming to save him weren't exactly promising. And in the meantime, he'd had to put up with Candra, and her psychotic ramblings. It was even worse that being stuck with his siblings.

But he'd seen Marie and Vicky would save him, and he had to have faith. It was only a matter of time before he got out of there—and got to see Victoria Creed again.

Emil smiled at that thought, deciding it was enough to keep his mind occupied for a while…

*** *** ***

Marie stood with Vicky outside Rhiannon's door, her hands on her hips. "Victoria, you can not be serious."

"Why not? And move. I can't knock on the door if you're standing in front of it."

"That's the point, blondie. Look, Rhiannon is not going to help us, plain and simple."

"Yes, she is. Trust me. And call me blondie again and you'll be sitting out this fight in traction."

Marie chose to ignore the last part of Vicky's statement. "Why should I trust you?"

"Other than the fact that I'm your teammate and we're in this together? Look, when Rhiannon asked me to take over as leader of the Marauders, I felt, well, a genuine sense of concern from her—concern for the wellbeing of these kids. Sure, she's got to be something bad if she's mixed up with a guy like Mr. S., but hey, so was your dad, and he turned out decent enough. All I'm saying is, I don't think Rhiannon wants to see anything bad happen to the Marauders, and she'll be willing to get them out of hot water with the diamond-headed one. So move so I can knock on the goddamn door."

"Vicky…"

"Move it, kid."

Marie sighed and slid to the side. Vicky knocked on the door, and Rhiannon emerged a few moments later, looking rather annoyed. "What do you want?"

"Did we wake you?" Vicky asked in her sweetest voice.

"Actually no. Haven't been sleeping." She narrowed her eyes. "But what do you want?"

"Marie and I have a little proposition for you. May we come in?"

"_Nein_. Go back to your bunks before I report this to Mr. Sinister."

"Rhiannon, it's important. It's about the Marauders…and how to save them."

Rhiannon started. "Come in then." She stepped back, letting Marie and Vicky come into her quarters. She gestured to her couch. "Have a seat."

"Thanks," Vicky said with a nod. She sat down and Marie followed her lead.

Rhiannon sat in a chair across from them. "So what is your important news?"

"I'll be blunt," Vicky began. "There's this immortal woman named Candra who's kidnapped Marie's cousin. We want to get him back, but well, we're going to need help—and we have reason to believe that the Marauders can be that help. And if they succeed, well, that should prove their worth to Sinister, shouldn't it?"

Rhiannon blinked. "I suppose… But Sabretooth, you've seen this team. They aren't exactly…battle ready. And fighting an immortal? I think they'd have better luck taking their chances against Mr. Sinister."

"But it's worth a shot, right?" Vicky said. "I mean, they might actually be able to defeat her."

"How, cut off her head?" Rhiannon scoffed.

"Lady, this ain't _Highlander_." Vicky said. "We just need to slow her down long enough to spring Marie's cousin. And we need you to convince the Marauders to go with us. Somehow, I figure they won't just up and walk into the swamps with me."

"No, they hate you," Rhiannon said very matter-of-factly.

"Good thing I'm not going for prom queen. But they will listen to you, won't they? I mean, if you told them this was some sort of official mission?"

Rhiannon sighed. "They'd have to. But using Mr. Sinister's personal strike force for a private matter…I don't think he'd be happy."

"Oh come on," Vicky replied. "He probably wouldn't even notice. All he does is lock himself up in his lab all day any way. Besides, he said he wanted them dead, Rhiannon. You told me that yourself—and you also didn't seem to fond of the idea. This could be your chance to save them. Do you want to let it just slip by?"

Rhiannon looked down for a moment before looking up to meet Vicky's gaze, determination in her eyes.

"I'll do it."

*** *** ***

"So where are we going?"

Rhiannon looked around for the hundredth time since they'd left Sinister's base, afraid she'd find her employer trailing behind her. "There's a threat Mr. Sinister wishes for us to handle," Rhiannon said succinctly.

Scrambler smiled psychotically. "It's about time. I haven't killed anyone in at least a good month. That's too damn long."

Vicky cut him a look. "You really are a psycho. And coming from me, that's saying a lot."

"Does it make you want to get all hot and sweaty with me?" Scrambler asked, putting his arm around Vicky.

"No." She grabbed his arm and twisted it around his back. "Try that again, and I'll kill you."

Scrambler just smirked, shaking his arm as she let it loose. "Big words, there, pretty lady. Remember, I can turn off your powers like that." He snapped his fingers.

"I don't need my powers to kill you. All I need are these," Vicky flashed her talons in his face.

Rhiannon turned around, shooting them a look. "This is important, so behave yourselves. Mister Sinister will be quite unhappy should you fail."

"So what if he's unhappy?" Scrambler asked. "What's he going to do 'dispose of us?'"

Rhiannon's uneasy silence proved that question to be more than the sarcastic quip that Scrambler had meant it to be. The Marauders stopped short. "Rhiannon, what exactly is going on here?" Scalphunter asked.

Rhiannon sighed. "Mister Sinister is…less than impressed with your performance."

"But we can do better!" Arclight exclaimed. "Really! We're just starting."

"I know that," Rhiannon said, "but he is less than patient." She looked down. "I should be honest with you about this mission. It is not Mister Sinister who requested you come, but Sabretooth and Gambit."

"Why should we do anything for _them_," Harpoon asked. "They're just a couple of annoying bitches."

"Look, fucker, you wanna find the closest small, dark space, because I'd be happy to look for it," Vicky snapped.

Rhiannon held up her hand. "Sabretooth please, none of that." She sighed. "Look, I know none of you trust Sabretooth and Gambit, but well, they knew what Mister Sinister was planning, and came up with this idea to help you. There's a woman who is causing some problems near here. If you can form an actual team and defeat her, then it will prove your worth and quite possibly save your lives."

"But why should we trust them at all?" Blockbuster asked. "This may just be a trap. Everyone knows they used to be X-Men. They could be trying to kill us as well."

"Yeah, they could be trying to get rid of us and prevent the threat we could cause to the X-Men," Riptide said.

Marie and Vicky both began laughing. "No offense or anything, but the X-Men would rip you guys into little bits," Marie said.

"You're not helping," Rhiannon said. Marie and Vicky unsuccessfully tried to subdue themselves. "Honestly, I know this is difficult for any of you to accept, but this is your last chance. If you don't do something now that proves to Mister Sinister that you aren't the embarrassments to mutantkind that he thinks you are, he's going to have you eliminated—the same way he did to the Morlocks via _your_ parents." The Marauders grew suddenly silent. "This isn't something you exactly have a choice in. Either take a chance, fight today, and prove yourselves capable, or die. It's not really a hard decision."

"Really," Vicky said. "It's like 'cake or death.' If you have brains, you're not going to chose 'or death.'"

Scrambler crossed his arms in front of him. "So what exactly are we up against?" he asked. "Rhiannon, you said it was just one woman, but if that's all it is, then Gambit and Sabretooth could taker her out by themselves, no problem. As much as I hate to admit it, they're good fighters."

Rhiannon frowned. "It is just one woman—it's just not a normal type of woman. Her name is Candra, and she's an External—an immortal mutant."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Scalphunter said, waving his huge gun in the air. "Immortal? Like that McLeod guy off the television? We can't do nuthin' about that, Rhiannon! I saw that show—bullets don't hurt him none. What am I supposed to do?"

Marie sighed. "It isn't like that, genius," she said. "Candra can be hurt, just not killed. I think." Marie frowned. "Look, I'm not really sure about her physiology or whatever, but I do know that my parents stopped her once, so she's not like, completely indestructible. And if you guys are able to even just stall her, that would be impressive."

"Look, I'm really not up for this," Prism said. "I'll smash into a million pieces."

Vicky grinned at her. "Don't worry about it. If that happens, I'll be sure to find your fragments good homes, by selling them on eBay for people to hang up in their kitchen windows."

Prism glared, but didn't say anything in response.

Rhiannon sighed again, looking at the Marauders with pleading eyes. "Please. Mister Sinister will kill you. Sabretooth and Charger probably won't. Which chance do you really want to take?"

Scrambler looked around at his fellow Marauders. "Can we talk it over for a moment?"

"I guess," Rhiannon said, slightly exasperated.

The Marauders walked a small distance away and formed a huddle, leaving Marie and Vicky with Rhiannon. Marie gave Rhiannon a small smile. "Don't worry about it. They'll say yes, and they'll be successful. Emil said so."

"Who's Emil?" Rhiannon asked.

"Her psychic swamp cousin," Vicky said, very matter-of-factly.

"Oh," Rhiannon said. She shrugged. "Well, I've seen weirder."

"Like what?" Vicky asked. She paused, then said, "You know, we really don't know that much about you. Except you work for Sinister and you smell a lot like a fat guy named Klaus. I guess both of those could count for weird."

Rhiannon smirked. "I was Klaus. I'm a shapeshifter."

Vicky's eyebrows went up for a moment, and then it clicked. She knew exactly who Rhiannon was—or at least she had a damn good theory. She'd have to talk to Marie about it later.

The Marauders broke up their huddle and came back over to Rhiannon and the two X-Men. Scrambler stepped forward. "We'll do it. But if you guys fuck us over, things are going to get ugly."

"Fair enough," Rhiannon said. "Let's get going then."

The small group continued on.

*** *** ***

After two months, there's finally a new chapter—and it's short! Sorry about that, but hopefully I'll have time to wrap up this chapter soon. Review and let me know what you think!


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